16 Best Exercises For Cerebral Palsy To Improve Daily Functionality

You may be worried about the independence and mobility of your child in daily life due to cerebral palsy (CP). 

You may also have fears of the life-long challenges they will face. But targeted exercises for cerebral palsy can help your child with all these challenges. 

These exercises and activities can improve their mobility and confidence, which will help them overcome physical limitations and participate in daily activities without any issues. 

We have curated a list of exercises for you to help your child have a healthy, active, and independent life. 

Let’s learn about these exercises in detail:

Why exercise is important in Cerebral Palsy?

People with cerebral palsy have lower levels of physical fitness. Their heart and lung endurance and muscle strength are low. The disease causes extra strain and stress to their body. 

Because of these issues, people suffering from CP are at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and a shorter life expectancy. Studies have shown that adults with CP are at risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, and arthritis. 

Apart from that, children with CP are at risk of ageing prematurely, too. But exercise can help your child stay active and healthy. There are many benefits of exercise and physical activities for children with cerebral palsy. There is no doubt that exercise and physical activities are more challenging for them. 

Also, there is a misconception that children with CP cannot participate in exercises and physical activities. But the fact is, there are exercises for all fitness levels and abilities and your child can do exercises as per their level of fitness.

You need to incorporate exercise in your child’s life as early as possible to form a lifelong habit for them to be fit. You need to work with your child’s doctor, rehabilitation specialists, and other medical professionals to find the right exercise that suits your child’s individual needs.

What are the benefits of exercises for Cerebral Palsy?

There are many benefits of exercises for cerebral palsy. The following are some of them: 

• Children with cerebral palsy are five times more likely to have issues related to sleep than non-cerebral palsy children. Exercise helps them sleep better.
• Children with cerebral palsy are also at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Proper exercise and activities can improve their cardiovascular health.

CP can create nutritional issues which may lead to health complications later. Malnutrition is common in CP children and when they are malnourished they constantly feel cold and lose muscle mass and body tissues. Some exercises strengthen their muscles and help them gain a healthy weight.

How much exercise do children with Cerebral Palsy need?

Experts have recommended that children with cerebral palsy should do at least 60 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. You may think that 60  minutes of exercise can be exhausting for your child. 

But it is not like that. It need not be conventional rigorous exercises. These exercises can be done through fun activities. There is no doubt that you will need your pediatrician and occupational therapist’s support and guidance while doing these exercises. 

So, before starting any exercises, you need to consult them without fail. These experts will create an exercise routine for your child that will boost their mobility and overall health by targeting the areas of their body that are worse affected by CP.

Things you should do before starting exercise for Cerebral Palsy

Below are some cerebral palsy exercise guidelines to follow before starting them for your child:

1. Consult a doctor or physical therapist:

It is always important to consult with a medical professional before commencing any type of exercise program. This can help to ensure that the exercises are safe for the individual and specifically tailored to their individual needs.

MedicoExperts can help you to get a consultation from the best physical therapist in India.

2. Set realistic goals:

When setting out an exercise plan, it is essential to set realistic and achievable goals. This can help motivate the child as those goals work towards their objectives and reduce the risk of them becoming overwhelmed or frustrated. It is important to take into consideration any physical or cognitive limitations that the person may have and adjust the exercises accordingly.

3. Warm-up:

Include a warm-up before any physical activity. This helps to prepare the body for exercise, reduce muscle stiffness, and increase blood flow. Additionally, it will help reduce the risk of injury.

Let’s learn about the different exercises that can keep a child with cerebral palsy healthy and active.

What are the exercises for Cerebral Palsy?

If you or your dear one has CP engaging in exercises that improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and range of motion is important. Exercise and yoga will help you improve your physical function and overall health. Let’s learn about these exercises:

Range of Motion Exercises 

Range of motion exercises are important to reduce the stiffness of joints, boost blood circulation, and strengthen the muscles. You need to do these exercises at least twice a day. 

Here are some range of motion exercises:

1. Neck Rotation: In this exercise, the child needs to rotate their head in a circle clockwise and anti-clockwise. 
2. Head Turn: Make your child turn their head side to side slowly.
3. Arm Circle: Extend your child’s arms to the sides to form a T shape, then move them in circles forward and backward.
4. Elbow Extensions: Bend and straighten their elbows. 
5. Shoulder Shrugs: Lift and lower their shoulders.
6. Wrist Rotations: you need to stabilize your child’s forearm with one hand and move their hand in circles.
7. Marches: Lift your child’s knee as if they are marching while sitting or standing. Do it for both legs.
8. Finger Clenching: Curl all your child’s fingers into a fist, then straighten them out.
9. Hamstring Stretches: this exercise is important for hip and knee movements. it can be done with one leg extended, reach for your toes and gently pull. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds while deep breathing. 
10. Quadricep Stretches: The quadriceps are the large muscles at the front of your thighs. Stretching them can help your child boost their flexibility and reduce back pain. Lie on your side and then bend your knees. Next, pull your bottom foot toward your buttock. Hold the position for 30 seconds.

Exercises for Cardiovascular Health

Your child’s cardiovascular health can be boosted using some amazing exercises and activities. These exercises will improve their heart health and overall stamina. These exercises help improve blood circulation, increase endurance, and increase mobility.  

They need to do these exercises for a minimum of 10 minutes to keep the child’s heart beating at an increased level.

1. Wheelchair Aerobics

Wheelchair aerobics can be a suitable cardio workout if you have cerebral palsy that mainly affects your legs or one side of your body. It involves upper body movement while sitting in a wheelchair.

Examples of these exercises include arm circles, punching motions and shoulder shrugs. Start with 5 minutes of light aerobic activity at a comfortable pace and gradually increase the duration as your fitness level improves.

2. Stationary Bike

Though stationary bikes won’t give your child the excitement of the outdoors, it has many benefits for children with cerebral palsy. It is a pediatric therapy tool that can boost your child’s cardiovascular health. 

3. Climbing Stairs

Stair climbing can be beneficial for your child’s cardiovascular health when they do it with proper guidance and support. It will improve their overall mobility, muscle strength, balance, and coordination, too.

4. Physical Therapist-led Swimming

Physical therapist-led swimming sessions are excellent for children who have spastic paraplegia which is a type of CP. It can improve cardiovascular health along with overall mobility.

Muscle Strength-Boosting Exercises

Children with cerebral palsy need exercises that help manage muscle stiffness and improve flexibility. Let’s check some of these exercises:

1. Resistance Band Exercises

A resistance band is a thick strong ring made of rubber or other similar materials.  It is used for doing exercises. If your child has limited mobility, these exercises will help him gain strength as they can be done while seated. 

These exercises make daily activities easier for your child. If your child has a cardiovascular condition or any other issues, you need to consult your doctor or rehabilitation team before starting these exercises. 

2. Yoga Classes

Yoga can help your child boost strength, coordination, flexibility, and overall movement. Yoga works on multiple parts of the body at a time which benefits a child with cerebral palsy immensely. 

Here are some of the benefits of yoga:

• Holding positions and using their body weight as resistance helps build your child’s muscle strength in areas where muscles are weaker.

• Holding stretches helps lengthen tight muscles in areas where they’re more tense.

• Children with CP sit for long hours. It can tighten their chest muscles which makes breathing harder for them. Some yoga poses open up the chest and stretch these muscles, helping improve breathing.

Like all other exercises, yoga also needs to be done under the expert supervision of an instructor who has experience working with cerebral palsy patients.

What are the Cerebral Palsy exercises for adults?

Exercises for adults will be different from exercises for children with cerebral palsy. Mostly because, there are differences in physical development, goals, and needs of a child and an adult. 

The types of exercises, support needed, and intensity and duration of exercises will be different for adults. Some of the exercises that can help adults overcome the limitations due to CP are aquatic exercises, moving with weighted cuffs, resistance band training, wheelchair pushups, wheelchair aerobics, and dancing.

Takeaway

The limited mobility and physical challenges that your child is facing due to cerebral palsy can be overcome to a large extent with the help of exercises. 

Whether it is strengthening their muscles, enhancing flexibility, boosting mobility, and easing breathing, exercises for cerebral palsy can help improve your child’s overall health and make them more independent. 

At the same time, you should keep in mind that each child with cerebral palsy is unique and they have different symptoms and physical limitations. Physical therapy and exercises for recreation are not the same and only a specialist can guide you on the right balance of both for your child. 

MedicoExperts can help you connect with some of the best doctors, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists in India.

To connect with the best doctors, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists in India, call us today.

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Medically Reviewed by MedicoExperts Editorial & Clinical Review Board on 20 September 2024